The Stevens Creek Shoreline Nature Study Area is a 55 acre natural preserve next door to the Shoreline Park in Mountain View, Calif. The salt marshes and Stevens Creek are seen with birds and other small wildlife that lie on either side of the Study Area's levee trail on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2010.

If you love bird watching, grab a pair of binoculars and visit the Stevens Creek Shoreline Nature Study Area in Mountain View. Particularly spectacular during spring and fall migrations, the preserve is rich with birdlife in all seasons. The Study Area is the tiniest - only 55 acres - of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's 26 preserves. Adjacent to Shoreline at Mountain View Park, the Study Area's levee trail is flanked by Stevens Creek on the west and salt marshes and ponds to the east. The trail continues as part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge all the way to the bay.

With views to the east of Moffett Field and beyond to Mount Hamilton and the East Bay, this is a perfect fall outing to squeeze in between rains. The distance from the trailhead to the bay and back is about 3 miles.

The trail

Pick up the trail at the Shoreline Amphitheater parking lot, Section E. Walking through the long lot, you will see benches and the kite-flying area to your left. At the end of the lot, look ahead to a rust-colored arched bridge that leads across Stevens Creek to the levee trail.

Getting to the bridge requires a series of turns. Approach a paved road that leads down to the Crittenden storm water pumping station and turn sharply left at the pump station. Then, at the trail sign, turn right toward the Stevens Creek Trail. Turn left onto Stevens Creek Trail and then right onto the rust-colored bridge to the levee. You can see Moffett Field to the east. From the bridge, walk to your left along the levee.

Having entered a birders' paradise, watch for dramatic white pelicans, great egrets and great blue herons. Cormorants, black-necked stilts, pied-billed grebes, coots, pintails and mallards are also common. Plant life along the creek bed and in the marshes reflects the salty habitat. Cord grass and pickleweed are plentiful. The parasitic salt weed dodder creates colorful yellow-orange patches on the pickleweed.

A sign marks the end of the nature preserve and the entrance to the Don Edwards refuge. To the right is a newly opened section of the San Francisco Bay Trail leading to Sunnyvale. However, stay on the levee and continue to the bay.

Shoreline park

Upon return, extend your outing by exploring Shoreline at Mountain View Park. Although the preserve is tiny, the park is vast - with a kite-flying area, an 18-hole golf course, trails, a 50-acre saltwater lake, a Victorian house to explore and two restaurants. At Shoreline Lake, lounge on the grassy shore, rent a pedal boat, rowboat, canoe or kayak, take a windsurfing or sailing lesson, or have lunch on the outdoor patio of the Lakeside Cafe (3160 N. Shoreline Blvd.). Bicycles are available for rent here. Another popular lunch spot is Michaels at Shoreline (2960 N. Shoreline Blvd.), where you can eat an outdoor lunch and watch the golfers at play. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, you can tour the historic Victorian Italianate Rengstorff House, Mountain View's oldest home.

Good to know

The preserve is open from dawn to a half hour after dusk. A vault toilet in the parking area is the only restroom, but other facilities are available in the park. Dogs and horses are not allowed on the trail. Bicycles are permitted with helmets required at all times. For information about boat rentals at Shoreline Lake, go to links.sfgate.com/ZKPR.

Getting there

You can take transit to Mountain View and bike along the Stevens Creek Trail from downtown to the Stevens Creek Shoreline Nature Study Area. To pick up the Stevens Creek Trail from Caltrain's Mountain View station, go north on Moffett Boulevard and right on Central Avenue, then enter the Stevens Creek Trail. Continue north into Shoreline park. Cross the rust-colored, arched metal bridge that spans Stevens Creek to reach the preserve's levee trail.

From Highway 101 heading south, take the Rengstorff Avenue exit. Stay right at the fork, following the signs for Amphitheater Parkway. Turn left at North Shoreline Boulevard and continue through the entrance kiosk at Shoreline at Mountain View Park. Turn right into the "Kite Area" parking lot. By car, from Highway 101 heading north, exit at Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View, and continue north on Shoreline through the entrance kiosk at Shoreline at Mountain View Park. Turn right into the "Kite Area" parking lot.

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Urban Outings are presented by Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area's advocate for protecting open spaces and creating vibrant places. To suggest an Urban Outing, contact Gail Todd, tour leader for S.F. City Guides and author of "Lunchtime Walks in Downtown San Francisco." To find out more about Greenbelt Alliance's work, visit www.greenbelt.org.